When the Sun Burns the Earth
by Hermione Pond
Summary: When Charlotte Fish-an unheard of companion to the 10th Doctor- is captured by Apolli, she doesn't know if she'll be able to survive. Little does she know that the Doctor has a plan to rescue her, but will the Apolli get to him first? If you read this, please review!
1. Chapter 1

I don't think that the end of the world really matters. Not to him. Martians will invade the earth and he'll come, just another alien, swanning in with his blue box and effortlessly save everyone with the help of a multipurpose screwdriver. He doesn't realise that the whole of humanity is in shock; curled up in little cube houses waiting to die because they've been through something that no one should go through, that no one should experience-

I don't know if he realises this. Or maybe he realises it more acutely than other people, suppresses it by being excited and jumping about and smiling, even when everyone else is melting around him.

But he's never told me; he probably never will. I've traveled with him but I will most likely never know how his peculiar brain thinks. I'll sort of sit while he tells me a story- _They have noseless dogs in Barcelona, Charlotte, noseless dogs: And let me tell you something, no matter how many times you tell that joke it never gets old!_- and I'll smile because he's funny, he really is; but I know that I will never go through what he's been through. I just know the simple rules: Never ask about Rose, never ever do anything to remind him of Rose, he may love you but he will never love you as much as he did Rose.

These thoughts are going through my head as I sit in an old fold up chair (_I know it looks terrible, Charlie, but just think- it's from the planet Sievun! They're known for their chairs!_) and watch the Doctor fiddle with an abundance of dials and buttons on the TARDIS, muttering to himself.

"Should take her to the future I always take companions to the future hope not to end up somewhere bad I've had enough of New New York Charlie will you pass me that paper?" That's me, Charlie. I am aware that the reader would not have heard of me, Charlotte Fish, a companion of the tenth regeneration of the Doctor for a very long period of time. But, you see, any other romantic relationship after Rose would've ruined the show... or so they thought (and then they put all the other companions and all the other romance)... so they didn't incorporate me at all. And yes, I know about Doctor Who. I watch it, in fact, a good show save for some mistakes as to what really happened. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, though, so let me continue.

I hand him the paper, but already he has forgotten. "Come on come on come on!" The TARDIS makes a sad whirring sort of noise and the lights flicker. "Nooo! Comeoncomeoncome- on!" as though constant 'come ons' can stop the ship from powering down.

"Gah!" He slaps the main board and turns to me, glowering. "Do you have any idea why the TARDIS isn't working? Or are you going to just- sit there- like-" He sputters to an awkward pause. "Never mind, then!" His glower turns into a smile, gone as quickly as it came. "Let's see where we landed."

Please understand, dear reader, that I've heard his stories. Nothing good ever comes from the TARDIS powering down mid-flight and us stepping outside; the world ends, it's a parallel universe where Rose will eventually get stuck (spoilers!) etc, etc, etc. I'm hesitant when I go out and I think he gets that. Or maybe he doesn't (_funny little human brains_); it's hard to tell with the Doctor.

"Um," I say, like the clever person I am, "you do realise that- well-"

He frowns at me, because he knows what I'm going to say. "You don't have a dead relative that you will wander off to see if it happens to be a parallel universe, do you?" I shake my head. "Good. I did think that you understood the whole 'don't wander off' thing. Funny, no one else does!" He opens the door.

Maybe it was the bright light that surprised me first, because when I say bright I mean blinding. As in, I couldn't see, shielding my eyes and grabbing the Doctor's arm because I need something, anything, to hold onto or I'll fall into the blinding light.

And then something else grabs my arm- a hand, I think, scaly and wet, like a reptile that's just been in water- and pulls me into the light, and I'm pulling the Doctor after me, and I'm screaming and he- he- he's not there anymore.

The moment I'm out of the TARDIS, fire burns, and I can see no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Silence.

I shudder and look around me. The bright light that I had seen from the TARDIS is gone, replaced with a darkness so black it's almost tangible. Usually the Doctor would be here, telling me what aliens these are and what their weakness is- now, nothing. Nothing but darkness and silence and _cold_

Cold so intense that it seems hot, or heat so intense that it seems cold. Like fire, up my back and my arms and down the back of my neck. My phone beeps; I've forgotten that it's still in my pocket.

I reach to grab it and am surprised that my arms can still move. I'm not chained up like I imagined I would be, even though I seem to be in some sort of jail. The cell isn't small, either, I can stretch my arms and legs, even- I realise this with a shock- walk about. There isn't any food, though, but I'm not hungry: I don't think so anyway; I could just be in shock.

My arm is burning, and not only from the cold (or heat). It's the arm that the creature grabbed and I look at it with the light on my phone.

It's a burn mark in the shape of a hand- but not a hand, more of a claw. Deep and angry red, it stings when I touch it and won't be soothed.

The next thing I notice is the floor... and don't tell me that the floor is a strange thing to notice. The thing is, the floors in jail cells that I imagine are hard, stone, and slimy with some unmentionable moss. This floor isn't, it's cool and made of a smooth material that sinks in when I put weight on it. It's slippery too, I find that I can slide easily from one side of the room to the other (it is a surprisingly large room) without hardly any effort. The walls are the same, and there doesn't seem to be a door anywhere.

I sit down and the floor sinks slightly under me. Efficient, I suppose, they wouldn't need to bolt in a bed or anything like that. I knock on the wall, but I can't tell if it's hollow or not.

I sink to the ground again and check my phone. There's one text.

_Charlie, the Apolli have you. I'm coming._

I think that's the Doctor, but telling me that they're Appoli doesn't help. I don't remember ever hearing about those, and he tells me a lot of stories. I rack my brain...

_Planet Sievun known for their chairs... Barcelona, noseless dogs... Slitheen, Raxacoricofallapatorius... Abzorbaloff, Clum..._

_Octopin, giant Octopus thingums from Unisil... Catters, not even related to cats, Jasfipij... Ien, never want to see them again, Quen... Apolli, creatures of the Sun..._

_Apolli..._

Apolli. Creatures of the Sun. Our sun, the Earth sun, presumably, and I'm on the sun. I'm on the sun I'm on the sun I'm on the sun.

So it is heat then, so so hot that it overwhelms my nervous system and makes me feel cold. And the padding on the walls? Insulation, I think. So that I don't burn. Because they'll starve me in a cage but they wouldn't dare kill me quickly, wouldn't dare get it over with, I need to suffer.

There is no door, but the moment one of the walls bulges out- it may be dark but the phone's light does wonders- I notice. "What the..."

It continues to bulge and then through it squeezes a crocodile. Or, it's not a crocodile but it looks like one; if crocs were blood red and stood on two feet and wore actual clothes, then yeah, it would be a crocodile.

It's voice is deep and rumbling, but I can't understand the words... TARDIS isn't here, and I'm hopeless at learning alien languages, the Doctor keeps trying to teach me.

"Jek myne tod dom al oajf jfil f-into siiiin," it says, and it's words don't sound threatening but they don't sound kind either. I shudder.

_"Jek myne tod dom al oajf jfil f-into siiiin!"_ it says again, more urgent. I shake my head; _no comprendo._

It stares at me and sort of glowers. Then, in a voice that is strangely high-pitched and thickly accented, it says, "Come with me."

Well, I suppose if your planet is orbited by the Earth, you've got to learn the language.


End file.
